


Baby Steps

by sh0tar1s



Series: Solangelo: the aftermath of the trauma [4]
Category: The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Amputation, Bonding, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Funny, Leo Valdez Being Leo Valdez, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Calypso/Leo Valdez, Past Relationship(s), Sad Nico di Angelo, Will Solace is a Good Boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27171671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sh0tar1s/pseuds/sh0tar1s
Summary: //SLIGHT TOWER OF NERO SPOILERS//After a week of living with mechanical limbs, Nico still struggles to walk.Will helps, Leo tries too.A 3rd(technically 4th) part of my series, could be read as a stand alone if ur ok with being a teeny bit confused all u gotta know is nico has metal limbs.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Leo Valdez, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Will Solace & Leo Valdez
Series: Solangelo: the aftermath of the trauma [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978432
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	Baby Steps

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy xx

"You can do it Nico!" Will cheered his lover on.

Out of all the days in the summer, today was the coolest. It was a nice break from all the days the camp sweat and almost died from overheating. Will would have to ask Apollo to tone it down a notch more often.

So, due to the perfect weather, Nico and Will set out to practice walking. They couldn't go on forever with the boy just limping or shadow travelling everywhere. The boy expressed it made him feel useless, so here they were.

Will stood in front of his boyfriend, holding his hands as he attempted to take a few steps. Thankfully, only one leg had suffered damage and got replaced, making it slightly easier. Yet, it didn't seem easy at all.

Nico grunted, limping as best as he could. They had been at a limp for days, for some reason the boy hadn't been able to straighten out his leg.

"I really can't," he groaned in pain as his leg creaked, the joint tightening. 

The blonde stepped beside him, supporting his weight with one arm around his waist. and the other still holding his hand.

"I don't get it, why can't you straighten it out?"

Nico sighed and stopped his slow limping. 

"It hurts," he scratched his head. "like my knee just aches everytime."

Will nodded, he'd have to check on the knee later.

"Let's take a break," he walked Nico over to the rocks that lined the beach.

They came here often, just talking and fooling around. Before they dated it was also the designated spot for a hangout. With the rocks being so high above the water, giving a clear view of everything ahead, this spot had become their comfort place.

When they were sad, they discussed their concerns and problems here. When they were happy, they'd sit here to relish in the sensation and admire the view. 

And when nothing was happening, they'd still come here. 

Nico sat down on the rock, his metal leg clanking against the boulder. Will, on the other hand, sat on the ground with his back against the next one over.

The black haired boy shakily inhaled and hid his face in his hands, exhaling slowly. Concerned, Will took his hand and brought it down, opening his fingers and holding it. It had only been a week since the near death experience they went through, more specifically Nico's near death experience.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly, though no one was around to hear them.

The younger boy looked down at his boyfriend, sighing again.

"I don't like this."

The blonde frowned and moved to sit beside him. He enveloped Nico's metal hand with both of his and rubbed circles into the knuckles which the other couldn't quite feel.

"What do you mean?"

"This," He harshly pointed out his metal limbs. "I feel like a fucking robot."

The tanner boy stared at him sadly. He had been having a rough time, both with self acceptance and learning to function again. For every painful sigh he let out, Will wanted to just go back in time and take the hit for him.

"Nico," he began, "I know I don't understand how you feel but, you're not a robot," he said while kissing his hand.

"You're still you, just now you have prosthetics. There's plenty of people with those, it doesn't mean they're robots, the same way you aren't either," Will assured him.

Nico shook off the grasp on his hand, leaning over with his elbows on his legs.

They sat silently, watching the waves hit the rocks below. Birds swooped in, catching fish in the sea. This reminded Will of Percy. He'd visited a week before with the other six chosen demigods. They had all seen Nico's condition and had different reactions. The girls and Frank were highly concerned, taking turns to ask him questions. "How does it feel?" "It doesn't hurt, does it?" 

Jason and Percy had winced, murmuring to each other about how much of a bitch it must've been to get that, or even move it. While Jason was closer to Nico, Percy knew him longer. Neither had fussed, but it was clear both of them felt sorry. Even a little horrified of the near death situation.

Meanwhile, Leo being Leo, awed and fawned over the quality of Nico's new limbs. "Dude, I know you almost died but you look frickin awesome!" Will agreed, he hoped he would take the compliment. And he did, somewhat. Nico nodded, giving the tech boy a tight smile.

That day had been both fun and stressful.

"I know," Nico broke him out of his thoughts. 

The boy leaned back, staring at the sky while he reached for Will's hand which the other took without hesitation.

"It's just frustrating."

Will smiled sadly, moving closer to Nico and slinging his arm over his shoulders. It slightly hurt because of the metal, but he'd never admit it.

"I get that," he kissed his lover's temple and rested his head against the boy's. He knew he couldn't make Nico's discomfort and frustration disappear, he'd have to get used to it. There was no other way.

After a moment of silence, Nico broke it again.

"Will?"

"Yeah?"

"This is gonna sound dumb," he groaned.

Will lifted his head, "Shoot."

Nico tilted his new leg to the side, letting the sun reflect off the shiny metal. He stared for a while, rocking it back and forth to see how the sun highlighted and shined against him. Another sigh and he spoke.

"I'm scared."

The blonde tapped Nico's left shoulder, turning him to the side. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy's shoulders and rested his head against the other's.

"That's not dumb, Nico," he quietly told him. 

The son of Hades wrapped his arms around his boyfriends waist as well, successfully unfolding his fingers well enough to not inflict any pain on Will nor himself. Previously, that had been a hard task but with some tweaking and practice it had gotten better.

The boy sighed shakily, burying his own face in Will's neck.

"It is," he murmured.

"What are you afraid of?"

Will propped his leg up on the rock, slightly leaning further into his lover's touch.

Nico, with his head still hidden in the crook of Will's neck, tightened his hold as well and hummed, thinking of ways to explain his fear.

"That you think differently of me," his voice wavered slightly, had anyone else been listening to him they may not have caught it. Will knew better.

He moved to cup his cheek. With an arm still around his waist, he pressed his lips against Nico's, his fingers brushing against the hair on his neck. It had gotten longer over the few months, now there was enough hair to be tied up. So often, Will played with his hair whenever he could.

"Nico," the blonde pressed their foreheads together after breaking away. He looked into his lover's eyes. "I don't. You're still the same to me, okay?"

"Even though I look like this?"

This made the older boy frown. Nico had always been insecure, but it had gotten a lot worse after losing his limbs. It's not like Will could blame him, he'd be upset too if he lost so many parts of his body. But it didn't change how he felt about him.

"Like what?" He asked as he moved his hand behind Nico's neck, still pressing their foreheads together.

The longer haired boy scoffed, moving away and crossing his arms. He frowned, biting his lip, "You know what I mean, Will."

"I'm like half a robot basically, I don't," he sighed again. "I don't look normal."

Will got up, taking Nico's hand in his. He led him away from the rocks and towards the sandier part of the beach. Before they could get far, the younger demigod yelped, pulling the other to the ground as he fell. They missed hitting the rocks with their heads by inches, landing on their hands and knees instead.

"What the-" Will was gonna ask what the hell that was for, but then he saw Nico clutching his knee and groaning. He realised what he had just done.

"Oh my god," he hovered over his boyfriend, placing a hand on his knees and checking if anything had come out of place.

"Stop, stop, stop!" The boy winced, hissing in pain.

Will still hovered over him, frantically looking between Nico's knee and face. "A-are you okay? I'm so sorry, holy shit, I forgot!"

The raven haired boy waved it off, "It's okay, just hurts…" he laid down onto his back and grunted. His knee was bent, completely unable to straighten now. Will laid down beside him in the sand. He rested on his side and waited for Nico to speak again.

"See?" He whispered, turning to look at his boyfriend. He looked him in the eyes. "I'm pretty useless, too…" Nico gave a sad smile.

"That's not true," Will quickly countered. "You are not useless, Nico-"

"Will I can barely fucking walk!" The young of the two snapped. "I don't care if you don't think I'm useless, I FEEL useless, okay?" 

Will stared at him, shocked that he had raised his voice. It wasn't often that they got upset at each other enough to argue, let alone yell.

The blonde moved to get up to give him some space, as they usually did when they fought.

But when he sat up, he didn't move to his feet. 

Still sitting, he turned his back and stared at the water far away. It rippled, it waved, and Will thought it was close to how he felt when people raised their voice at him.

With his back still turned to Nico, he broke the silence.

"I," He began. "I almost lost you. It doesn't matter to me how you look. Whether you have three metal limbs, no arms, for fucks sake you can have no limbs at all."

"I'd still be happy that you're just with me," he turned to the boy. "I just want you to be okay."

Nico frowned and looked down.

"You really don't mind them?" 

"I don't."

"Even though I'm useless?"

"You're not but if you insist you are, then I don't mind that either," Will sat Nico up, supporting his leg so it wouldn't damage his knee any more than it has.

"I'm not dating you cause I think you're a tool I can pick up and use for fights," he looked him in the eyes intensely, grabbing Nico by the shoulders firmly. "I'm with you cause I love you."

He had to remind him. He hoped he'd gotten his point across. Nico was more than just a fighter. He was more than a tool to the gods. Who cares if he couldn't walk again? Will would carry him. Who cares if he couldn't fight again? Will would do it for him. It didn't matter.

Nico leaned in, capturing Will's lips.

"I love you too," he smiled as he pulled away. "and I'm sorry for yelling," he added.

"It's fine," the older demigod smiled back.

"Yo!" A loud voice interrupted them.

The two of them snapped their necks towards the voice, which happened to belong to none other than Leo. He stood behind the rocks, a wide smile on his face and a wrench in his hand.

"What's up?" Will asked as he stood up, helping Nico get to his feet in the process.

"Not mu- Woah!" Leo's smile dropped. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" The blonde followed the mechanic's gaze and found that while he was supporting Nico, his entire leg was shaking as he struggled to stand. 

"Oh shit," he cursed. Leo made his way to Nico, supporting him as well as he slung the boy's arm around his shoulder. They began to walk over to the infirmary near the cabins.

Nico groaned, "I swear to the gods, I'm gonna break this leg outta anger."

Leo gasped "No, don't! Listen, these things are super hard to fix."

The son of Hades replied, "It was just a joke," which Will smirked at, knowing it wasn't.

"Well I never know with you," the darker demigod laughed. "maybe you WOULD."

"Whatever," Nico smirked too.

As they sat him down at the infirmary, the mechanic pulled out tools from his belt. "You mind?" He asked, to which the youngest of the three nodded.

Leo had been his designated "doctor"(besides Will) who would check up on how he was adapting and functioning. While it's true that the other Hephaestus kids quickly made the artificial limbs with the speed of gods, Leo was the most gifted of them all. He could fix problems in ways many might not think of.

From what Will knew of him, the boy liked to act dumb and play games all the time. The first time they met, he had thought he was silly. After his sacrifice, things changed.

Will could tell Leo was more than just the funny one, more than just the joker. He was smart and quick at what he did, always trying to be on the nose. He was also a kind friend despite them barely talking.

In all honesty, Will felt bad. Despite Leo being a leader and a hero, some demigods mocked him often, or just flat out made fun of him. Unreasonably they were always annoyed with him, which he found was upsetting to both him and Nico. They all had ADHD as they're all demigods, he thought maybe people would understand Leo's hyper tendencies.

Although, Will remembers when they saw him again the week before today. Apparently, according to Annabeth, the full story went like this.

Austin and Kayla had decided to sacrifice the seven heroes. themselves. They really, really didn't wanna walk in on Will and Nico, who had slept in the same cabin the night before. If they were doing something, of course. They had no way of knowing but there was a couple in a bed. They had to assume the worst. Austin would have to gauge his eyes out if he saw anything and his sister would help him.

So, the seven demigods that arrived were informed of this issue and began to banter and debate who would interrupt the two lovers they were there for.

But even they didn't wanna do it. They stood just outside the Hades cabin in a circle.

They had told Kayla and Austin to do it themselves, but as Will's siblings that was a huge risk for their poor memories. The seven heroes decided to let them be.

So, here they were, hotly debating who it would be.

"Okay, listen," Percy waved his hands and gave them all death stares. "it CAN'T be me." 

Piper scoffed, balancing the tip of her dagger on one finger, "And exactly why not? You've known Nico the longest, who cares if you see something?"

"Okay if you're so confident why don't YOU go in?" Percy placed his hands on his hips.

Frank and Jason looked conflicted, but nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but," Hazel started. "she's a girl." Annabeth gravely nodded along, like this was the most serious decision ever.

"Well you're his sister, Hazel! You go!" Percy countered.

Hazel blushed and waved him off, "That's even worse! I don't wanna see anything! Frank, you go!"

"Nuh uh," the tall boy waved his hands, shaking his head frantically. "no chance."

Jason sighed, "Then Annabeth can go." 

The said daughter of Athena snapped her neck towards him. "I will break you."

They decided to back off the blonde, god knows how serious she might be right now. Who knows, but what they did know is she really can break Jason. Better safe than sorry.

While no one was looking, Kayla and Austin snuck away and ran as far as they could. No way were they about to get caught in that mix.

Hazel sighed loudly, slapping her hands against the sides of her thighs. "Oh come on-"

"I volunteer Percy," Annabeth raised her hand.

The son of poseidon gasped, whirring around to his girlfriend. "Trader!"

"Okay, can you guys shut up?" Leo, who had been awfully quiet the entire time chimed in. He yawned, rocking back and forth on his heels as he crouched on the sand. "I'll do it."

"You sure?" Jason raised an eyebrow, looking at the rest of the demigods and then back to Leo.

"Yeah," the volunteer stood from his position and brushed off his pants from any sand. "what's the worst that can happen?"

They didn't answer him, instead they stood around awkwardly, waiting for someone else to volunteer.

Not that there was anything wrong with Leo as a person, there was something wrong with Leo doing anything peacefully.

"Welp," Frank broke the silence. "in ya go!" 

He pushed Leo towards the door, causing the darker boy to squirm and mutter, "I can do it myself, gee!"

Once Frank went back, the six watched him cough, clearing his throat in preparation.

"You know, maybe I should-" Piper began, but got caught off by her friend.

"No, no," he smirked and cracked his fingers. "It's fine!"

Everything was happening in slow motion as Leo rose a hand to knock.

Then, to literally everybody's dismay, the boy busted the door open and yelled. 

"WILL! NICO! WHAT IS UP MY DUDES?!" 

Jason winced.

"Fuck," Piper hid her face.

"Idiot," Annabeth deadpanned.

"Traumatized now, isn't he?" Hazel chimed in.

"Prepare for Satan in the form of Nico Di Angelo, guys," Percy sighed.

"A-are those his last words?" Muttered Frank.

The sacrifice who volunteered himself turned back to them, smiling with his eyes shut. "See? I can't see anything! It's okay!"

The rest stared at each other.

"I mean," Percy began

The rest chimed in with their agreements.

"Yeah?"

"I guess…"

"Still an idiot but yeah."

"Yeah I guess?"

"Can't argue with that logic."

The son of Apollo, Will, stepped out the cabin and closed the door behind him, gently shutting it. All the while, a soft smile lined his features.

"Hey guys, does he look mad to you?" Jason whispered.

Hazel shrugged, "Not really. But-"

Piper shushed them, they all anticipated Will's true reaction. Sure the blonde was kind and bubbly, but don't get on his nerves. Seriously.

"Leo," Will turned to him, still smiling with his eyes closed.

"Yeah?" The curly haired boy smiled back, crossing his arms and shifting his weight onto one leg.

"Do that again and I'll shove my syringe up your-"

"Woah!" Percy interrupted, coming in between the two. "Keep it PG guys, there's kids around," he nodded at the young demigods hanging by Hypnos cabins steps within earshot of them. 

Will sighed while Leo laughed, "Sorry man, it's just much more fun that way."

"Whatever dude, next time you'll face Nico's wrath."

It was an interesting way to meet Leo again after months of him staying at the waystation. Especially when he looked so different now, yet acted quite familiar.

Will sat down on the wooden table designated for paperwork. The infirmary was a favourite place of his, he spent many days in here and as a result the table he now sat on was named his.

Looking at Leo, he took in how different he looked. He now wore a plain lavender bandana on his forehead, his curly hair falling over the sides and front. His wardrobe had changed into a white shirt and black ripped jeans. His aqua, purple, and black bomber jacket rested on the back of his chair as he sat to examine Nico's knee.

Will looked down and could see his scruffy full black converses, the shoe laces mismatched to be blue on one shoe and pink on the other. In the corner of the shoe, he could see a smudge of dried up yellow paint trailing down to the sole.

It was clear Leo had been happier, maybe even found who he was. Will himself had changed his style quite a bit in the last few months. 

A consequence of dating Nico was, you never see colour again basically. 

Nico wore black pants, black shirts, black hoodies, black everything. This had influenced Will to start wearing more black, especially more black shirts. His boyfriend insisted that the orange camp shirt was disgusting, so often the blonde gave it up for a black tee.

While Nico influenced Will, Will also influenced Nico. 

Though he still wore black, there was a slight splash of colour every now and then. One time, Will convinced him to dye one strand of hair green. It had faded out quickly and he re-dyed it back to his natural hair, but those two weeks of bright green became a highlight of the older demigods year.

"So," Leo broke Will out of his thoughts. "tell me again how this happened?" 

He picked up a screw driver, screwing in whatever it was on Nico's knee. Will had no clue frankly, his specialty was healing, not making robotic limbs.

"I was trying to walk, Nico sighed and rested his chin in his free hand. "but you know, shit doesn't work."

"It was my fault," Will winced. "I was pulling him to walk with me and I forgot-"

"Will, it's okay," he assured, smiling at him from where he sat with his knee up. 

Leo chuckled, cleaning grime from within the cracks of the metal off with a cloth. He'd done this often when tending to Nico's arms and leg, he reminded him everyday to take care of it, having anything in between the crevices could apparently interfere if left there for too long.

The thing was, they had been trying to fix his knee for the entire week he stayed. The rest of the heroes had left, they had other responsibilities like school and work. So where did this demigod stay? At the Hephaestus cabin of course. 

Will remembered how Harley, the nine year old Hephaestus kid, looked up at him when he came back. He hadn't known the two were close, but the two brothers greeted each other in a bone crushing hug. The rest of the kids had greeted the mechanic just as enthusiastically, even the ones who hadn't met him before.

Of course, Leo was one of the greatest heroes here. He had sacrificed himself for the camp, the world, and came back to life basically. Plus, he was a former ruler of his cabin. This all earned him good credit obviously. 

To say Leo was having a good time here was an understatement.

He continued to examine and tweak Nico's knee as best as he could for the next ten minutes.

"I don't know man," he sighed. "I'll figure out why it's not working soon, nothings clicking right now."

Nico put his leg down, slightly hissing, "It's alright."

"So," Will began, still sitting on the table. "I never asked but what's up with the new style?" 

Leo relaxed against the back of his chair, grinning widely. "Lots has changed."

"Oh yeah?" Nico mused and quickly limped to sit beside the blonde on the table. Will took his hand in his, entangling their fingers. They already knew the boy across them couldn't care less about their public display of affection.

"Yeah," the boy took off his headband and ruffled his hair. "I think I'm actually happy."

"Like," he bit his lip and smiled wider. "I feel like I have a real friend."

"Calypso-" Nico guessed but was cut off.

Leo snorted, "Nah man, her and I didn't work," he crossed his arms, looking a little sour though still smiling.

Will and Nico exchanged confused faces, then the older boy decided to ask. "What happened with you two? I thought you saved her like a knight and shining armor and you two live happily ever after and all that." 

"Will," Nico hissed and jokingly punched him in the arm, thought it was harder than he meant to. He didn't notice.

"Well, It's just," Leo rested his chin in his hand, elbows on his knees as he slouched forward. "she made me feel awful, you know?"

"She would, like, call me stupid and annoying and just," he sighed. "Cal was mean. I thought she liked me but, I guess she convinced herself," he smiled sadly.

Will frowned, "That's awful, why would she…" He had no idea Leo had been in a relationship so toxic. Well, it's not like they talked much before this week.

"Yeah," Nico agreed. "why would she do that?" The blonde boy looked over at him to see the younger's face contorted, his jaw clenching. Will smiled at that, the son of Hades might have a dark title next to his name but he cared about his friends greatly.

Leo laughed and shrugged, they could both tell he was trying to push his emotions back. 

"I don't know, I wanted to make her happy," he thought for a second. Then, he moved back against the chair and crossed his arms again. "maybe it was something I did."

"Uhm-" Nico started but Will quietly shushed him and squeezed his hand. 

"I mean I kinda suck at telling what someone's emotions may be," a pause. "and reading situations, and reading in general," Leo started to ramble.

"But anyways," he smiled again. "at the Waystation I basically have two moms and a little non biological sister, Georgia-"

"Oh!" Will interrupted. "Dad told me Georgia might be my sister!"

Nico choked, "Might?" 

Will, the actual confirmed child of Apollo, cringed, "He can't tell."

It was everyone's turn to cringe. 

"Continue," Nico gestured with his hand.

"Well I help out some kids at this homeless shelter, they're building so many things in a week it's impressive," he awed to nobody in particular.

Will and Nico smiled at each other, feeling their hearts warm. They somewhat knew Leo's story. He had run away from shelter to shelter, foster family from foster family, from one school to the streets. His entire life had been a lot of running, he knew what it was like to not have a family. 

Now that he was helping homeless kids, Will could tell that made Leo happy to even be alive to do that. 

"And," the boy's face lit up. "I have this super cool friend, Lityerses! He helps out too."

The couple looked at each other again, smiling mischievously.

"Guys it's not like that!" The son of Hephaestus laughed and waved his hands to try and disperse the misunderstanding.

"I don't knowww," Nico singsonged, rolling his eyes in a joking manner. Will laughed, cooing at Leo too.

"For real," the boy's laughter died down to a giggle. "I feel like he's the first friend who I'm fully comfortable with."

Will rested his head against Nico's shoulder, "What about the other six? Like Jason and all of them?" 

"Oh, none of them were really close to me. Jace, Pipes, and I were only friends because Hera made us believe we were," he confessed. "everyone had each other but me after we all met. Percy and Annabeth, Piper and Jason, Hazel and Frank, I was kinda roaming about," He picked up tools and began tinkering with an item from his pocket. "I guess I just didn't fit in that well? I don't know, it was for the sake of the stupid prophecy."

Nico hummed, "I remember that. You were always with that dragon instead-" "Festus." "Right."

"Don't get me wrong," he looked up from his tinkering as he added. "I love them all but…"

"There's that one person who just feels better to be around?" Nico finished for him. Looking over, the blonde saw a fond look on his boyfriend's face. Like this was something he had been thinking about, like he knew exactly what Leo felt.

Will flashed him a smile, earning a mumbled "Shut up." from the pale boy whose face was getting redder and redder. The other further nuzzled against his shoulder.

"Yeah," Leo chuckled. "it's like that."

"What's up with the new style?" Nico smirked.

The dark skinned boy fake groaned, though he still smiled. "Lityerses thought I could use a wardrobe change."

"I see you're not unhappy with it though."

"I mean," he looked down, gesturing to his clothes. "I look hot."

Will laughed at that while Nico cringed. 

After half an hour of more bantering and mindless story telling, the mechanic stood up.

"How bout we try walking again?"

And as it was Leo's turn to steady Nico and guide him to walk, Will sat back. Watching his boyfriend limp and hiss in pain, he silently promised that soon, eventually, he would be up on both feet again. He'd get used to it. He'd use these new limbs like he was born with them, his movement wouldn't be restricted. Will would help him achieve all of it.

But for now, they had to take baby steps.

**Author's Note:**

> so yall have no clue, it took me so long to write this cause this is actually 3 different stories i merged into one bc i lost ideas for all 3  
> but it came together just fine if i do say so myself
> 
> leave a kudos if u enjoyed! if you have any suggestions for future oneshots, comment them below :)


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